Smartphone safety: listen to Ars on WBEZ

Want the short, voice version of our feature series on stalking? You're in luck.

If you're in Chicago and were listening to Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ) at around 3:15pm today (Tuesday), you may have heard me speaking with Steve Edwards on the Afternoon Shift about how to keep yourself safe when using your smartphone. But if you're not in Chicago—or you aren't one of those weird people who listens to the radio at work—you can still listen. WBEZ has posted a streaming version of the show to its website, and I appear during the second hour of the show (starting roughly 16 minutes in).

The topic was sparked by our feature series here at Ars on how to harden your smartphone against stalkers. We wrote an edition for iPhone and Android with the goal of educating those who might need a little help when it comes to managing their own smartphone settings—especially if they are at risk of being stalked by someone close to them. The response to the two features has been great, and I've received tons of feedback from people who had no idea about some of the hidden ways in which their phones are giving away where they are.

So if you're interested, take a listen to hear some of the basic points, and send it to your friends and family who could use the wake-up call on how to manage their privacy. And if you haven't caught up on the features yet, you can find more details there about everything Steve and I discussed. Happy listening!